


Time Tales

by planningconquest



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Ghosts, He lives on top of a hill[, Horror Story AU, Horror movie tropes used, Luke is a damsel in distress, Murder Mystery, Padme is a ghost, Vader is Anakin's pseudonym
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-10-14 03:40:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 19,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17500841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/planningconquest/pseuds/planningconquest
Summary: Luke Skywalker stumbled across a moldering mansion in the middle of the woods. Inhabited solely by a mysterious man named Vader. As Luke's stay lengthens, he begins to uncover secrets of the woman who haunts the house, leading him to her killer





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [maedre13](https://archiveofourown.org/users/maedre13/gifts).



The rain was torrential, pouring from the heavens and soaking every inch of Earth. Dumping over tree covers and trickling down their stems until it was a continuous rain below the trees. Even sitting at the base of an enormous, gnarled looking oak meant that Luke was getting soaked through to the bone. He shivered, curling his toes in his boots and tried to figure out a way to walk up or down the hill so he could get home. 

No dice. His ankle twinged painfully, and he bit his lip until it died away. 

It was too late in the fall for there to be any leaves, to protect him. The fallen leaves, soggy and decomposing, made descending and ascending the hill too dangerous on a normal day. For a desert kid like Luke, who had never seen this much rain before in his life, it held even more pitfalls and potential injuries. 

He winced as thunder rumbled in the distance, and tried to leverage his way up the tree. It worked, mostly. He was able to stand on his left foot and glanced around to see if he could recognize any of the trees or rocks. Biggs and the others had led him into the woods and had summarily abandoned him.

 

“Great,” his mouth twisted into an unpleasant frown. “Just great.” He shivered as he hobbled painfully up the hill, slipping often enough that his knees were aching by the time he’d managed to crest. It turned out not to be the top of the hill, but another jump of the hill. 

Luke paused, shivering and shaking out his soggy hair as he went upwards slowly. A loose rock and some soaked mud sent him reeling back until he slipped and landed hard on his backside. Thankfully he was on almost level ground, otherwise, he might have been hurling down the hill until he slammed into a tree or another boulder. 

“FUCK!” He screamed, frustrated and miserable, trying to force away the tears the burned in the back of his eyes. His foot burned, and he knew he looked pathetic and soggy. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.” At least Uncle Owen wasn’t here to see this or hear this. But since daylight was fading fast, and the storm seemed to be worsening; there was no telling just how worried they might get. 

The only sound he could hear was the rain, some distant thunder, and a dog barking. 

A dog barking? Luke perked up as the barking got closer. His excitement died in an instant as a tiny gray dog burst through the underbrush and tumbled until it landed in Luke’s lap. 

“Hi there,” Luke grinned despite him pretty sorry position. The dog yipped cheerfully, nosing around his shirt and investigating his hands when he went to pet it. “You’re so small and cute, what are you doing all the way out here?” A bright red collar hung around his neck, and Luke turned it so he could read the inscription. “Gary, that’s an odd name for a dog.” 

“GARY!” Luke jolted at the shouting bellow. A man was obviously looking for his dog. Gary hopping off Luke’s lap and toward the shouting man without a second between the words and the thoughts. He was gone before Luke could offer anything other than a token protest. “Hey!” 

Not two minutes later, Gary was back. Barking and yipping until an enormous shadowy figure emerged from between the trees. Luke gulped as the man approached. He was huge. Tall, with broad shoulders and wearing a heavy black trench-coat. No, he squinted at the style, it actually looked more like a Victorian-era rain cloak. His face was deeply scarred, and he seemed just as surprised to see Luke as Luke was to see him. 

“What are you doing here?” He demanded, and Luke gulped as Gary jumped back onto his lap. 

“I’m lost,” he blurted, “I was hiking and then I got lost and I fell down a hill.” 

“Fell?” The man seemed to notice the awkward way Luke held his foot and nodded slowly. “What are you doing out in a rainstorm, boy?” 

“I was…hiking. Well. It was only a little damp when we started.” 

“We?” 

“The others…left.” 

“They left you?” He scoffed, “how long have you been out here?” 

“I…a few hours. I just…I tried to find them and then I got lost and I fell about..twenty minutes ago.” 

“I see.” After a moments consideration, he pulled off his cloak, and Luke swallowed when he caught sight of a shiny prosthetic right arm, and a few scars that ran up and down his other am. He held out his remaining hand and helped Luke to his feet before draping the huge cloak over his shoulders. 

“Thanks,” Luke sneezed, sniffling a bit as he blinked water out of his eyes. “It’s kinda a moot point though right now.”

“Not really,” he let Luke sling an arm over his shoulder before shocking the teenager and swinging him effortlessly onto his back. Luke tightened his grip on the broad shoulders, instinctively wrapping his legs around his waist.

“What are you doing?” 

“I’m carrying you, obviously.” His deep voice was harsh, and a little mocking. “Come, Gary.” He started off, his steps up the hill sure and strong. “Walking on a bad ankle will damage it irreparably. Where do you live?” 

“Um, we just moved to town.” 

“Which town, boy?” 

“My name is Luke, you don’t have to call me boy,” Luke said, glaring at the man when he smirked. 

“Fine then, Luke. Which town? There are few.” 

“Um, Canyonville.”

“Canyonville?” He turned his head to get a glimpse of Luke. “That’s over twelve miles away.”

“What?” 

“You were walking away from it, Luke.” 

“Oh,” Luke fell silent, “thanks for your help.” The stranger made a non-committal noise. “What’s your name?” 

“You may call me Vader.”

“Vader?” That man was familiar, but he wasn’t sure why. “Um, thank you, Mr. Vader. I don’t want to be a bother, but can I borrow your phone. I need to call my aunt and uncle.”

“And tell them you walked 12 miles through dangerous woods in the middle of a thunderstorm and sprained your ankle?”

“Well, yeah,” Luke refused to make eye-contact, blushing furiously. 

“How did you get lost in these woods, young man?”

“I’ve never lived in an area like this,” Luke muttered, “I was raised in Arizona.” 

“My apologies.”

He snorted, “I don’t know much about woods. I’ve never seen this much rain before in my life.” 

“I see,” Vader glanced back, nodding. 

“I didn’t know that there could be this much water in a day. It’s beautiful, but a little irritating.” Luke knew for a fact that the older man was laughing at him. “What?”

“You look like a wet cat out here in the rain, Luke,” Vader told him, and Luke huffed in annoyance. He glanced around and his eyes fell upon an enormous house that was edging into view. 

It looked like something out of a horror movie. The siding was iron gray, stripped of any color they might have once had. The tiles and trim around the enormous turrets were peeling and loose. The windows were opaque and there were yellowed curtains hanging in them. The porch looked sturdy and wrapped around most of the house. But was so gray, and depressed looking that Luke swallowed hard at the sight. He could see a broken porch swing still The grass and gardens were dead and bent under the weight of the water. Stones in the path were crooked and broken, dead blades of grass rising between them. 

There was something that looked like a car under a faded blue tarp. 

Luke could easily see a possessed doll tormenting a few people in this house. 

“Um.” Vader wasn’t trying to walk around it but was headed straight for the front porch. “This is.” 

“My house,” Vader told him, and Luke glanced back at the woods and then at the dog following cheerfully at his heels. 

“Why are we coming here?” Luke wondered if he could jump away and run all 12 miles back to town.

“You needed to use my phone.”

“Right,” Luke pursed his lips, watching the house get closer. At closer inspection, the house looked shabby and a bit worn down, but it looked pretty sturdy. “Um.”

“And we need to wrap that ankle.”

“I think I’ll be okay,” Luke said quietly, “I don’t want to be a bother.”

“Spare me whatever platitudes you think are necessary.”

“I can wait till I get home, its no problem.” 

“Quiet,” Vader ordered, and Luke nodded slowly. He felt stiff and nervous. The rain was coming down even harder now, and Luke didn’t even think that was possible. There was water clinging to every pore in his body, and what he wanted more than anything, was a hot shower. He honestly didn’t care if this Vader guy turned out to be an ax murderer or a crazy man who lived in the woods. Luke was mostly focused on getting a hold of a phone, and getting warm. 

His teeth began to chatter, and we almost excited to be entering the dilapidated looking house. It was shockingly cozy, warm, but dark. As soon as Vader hit the light switch, Luke could see the furniture placed around the living room all covered in dusty white sheets. He swallowed hard, as he saw chandelier flicker ominously. 

After a moment of astonished staring, he slid off Vader’s back and hung onto the door-frame as Vader straightened and took off his hat. He was bald, and the right side of his scalp was scarred red and white. When he turned around, Luke swallowed heavily as he finally saw the burn scars across the right side of his face and down into the collar of his shirt. When Vader tilted his head to the side, lifting his eyebrows, which had several white scar lines running through them; Luke noticed the faint scaring on his left side. 

Vader held out a hand. 

“What?” Luke blurted, finally staring down at the limb. 

“My coat.”

“Oh, right,” Luke shrugged it off. 

“And yours.”

“Are you sure?” Luke hesitated before slipping his jacket off and handing it over. The enormous man disappeared down the hallway while Luke dripped steadily onto the entryway floor. A door creaked, opening and shutting, and he returned with a stack of towels. “Thank you.”

“Hmph,” Vader said nothing, but took the stop towel and began to rub down the overly excitable pug. Luke began to dry himself off. He jumped a little when the lights flickered. When he felt like he wouldn’t cause the floor to spontaneously rot beneath him as he walked Luke spoke up.

“So, um, your phone?” 

“Down the hall, on the table to the right.” Vader stood, hoisting Gary into his arms. He turned and vanished through another door, and Luke hopped through the room toward the hallway. The phone he did find, after turning the light switches a few times to discover they didn’t seem to work and stumbling his way around in the dark, was an antique rotary phone. Luke was pretty surprised he didn’t hear an operator asking to direct his call when he held the heavy receiver to his ear. He amused himself with pointlessly spinning the dial a few times before finally calling his relatives.

Aunt Beru picked up after the first ring. 

“Hello, Lars Residence?”

“Aunt Beru?” Luke asked quietly.

“Luke! Where are you? Are you alright! We’ve been expecting you back for ages! I saw Biggs and the others at the store earlier, and I didn’t see you! Where are you?”

“I’m alright, Aunt Beru, I got mixed up and I got a bit lost. Um,” he wondered if he should mention his foot. “I came across a guy who is letting me use his phone.”

“What’s his name?” She demanded, “are you alright?”

“He said his name was Vader,” Luke jerked around wildly as he heard footsteps above his head. As far as he knew, Vader was on the first floor and he hadn’t heard the man go up the stairs. “Apparently I got so turned around that I managed to hike about 12 miles away from town.” 

“Oh, Luke,” Aunt Beru fussed, “you must be soaking wet. It has been raining for hours.”

“I’m sorry,” Luke said, “but can you bring a spare set of clothes?”

“Of course, tell me where you are.”

“I don’t.” Luke screeched as a hand holding a small slip of paper appeared under his nose. Vader stood to his right, apparently appearing from nowhere. “What the?”

“The address. Tell your aunt to be careful driving the roads up here. There have been landslides before.” Without another word, Vader was gone. 

“Luke?” He heard, “what happened?”

 

“I’m a little,” Luke held the paper to his heart, feeling the organ beat wildly. “A little jumpy. He…startled me. I have the address.” 

“Alright, read it to me,” his aunt ordered and Luke dutifully recited the information on the page.

“Oh, um, I sort of twisted my ankle when I fell down,” he held the receiver from his ear as Beru screeched. 

“Are you alright? What happened?”

“It was muddy, and I slipped and fell. I fell pretty badly and twisted it.” 

“Do you have anything to wrap it with? No, of course, you don’t. I’ll be right there, Luke, alright? Are you sure you’re alright?”

“I’m okay. Just a little sore and wet, but I’m okay.” 

“Alright,” she sighed tiredly, “I’ll be up as soon as I can. Try to get dry and remember to be very polite.” 

“I will,” he promised and waited until she hung up the phone before doing the same. 

Once he was in the living room, his footprints were left behind in the coating of white dust that seemed to cover every surface in the house. Vader didn’t show for a few minutes, so Luke wrapped himself in a towel and shivered. The ceiling creaked under near silent footsteps. 

“If your aunt coming?” He swallowed down his yelp as Vader appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

“Yes, I don’t know how long it’ll be. Um, she’s bringing me some clothes.” 

Vader stared at him for a moment before crossing the enormous room. He was carrying a tin-box with a red cross stamped on the side. He set it on a sheet-covered baby grand piano, and carefully unfolded a sheet from one of the couches. A bright red couch, with ornate embroidery, and looking like something from an old movie, was revealed. The back was lined with carved, dark wood, that curved onto delicate arm-rests. 

“Sit,” the man ordered.

“I don’t want to ruin your couch,” Luke said quietly. Bright blue eyes hardened into a frown, and the older man dropped a few towels over it. He gestured sarcastically until hopped over and settled gingerly on the antique couch. In a few minutes, his show was un-tied and carefully removed. Vader brushed his hands away. Rolling down the sock from swollen, and angry red skin. Luke sucked in a hissing breath as Vader podded it carefully. 

“Not broken, but certainly sprained badly,” he fetched the tin box and produced a white package. Luke recognized it as one of the instant ice-packs. “Turn to the side, we will need to elevate your foot. From under a sheet on a tall chair, Vader pulled an equally fancy pillow. Luke grimaced to himself as he set his foot on top, and did yelp when the man plopped the ice-pack on top of it. “I will wrap it later.”

“Thank you,” Luke said after a minute. “Um.” He quailed under the glower that the man directed his way. His words died in his throat

“I’ll be back in 30 minutes,” Vader announced and vanished again. Luke strained to see over the back of the enormous couch and settled back to wait. The scattering of claws against the hardwood and then carpet had him looking around for Gary. A moment later the little gray dog appeared on his left. 

“Hey,” Luke held out a hand, and Gary sniffed it. He was drier now and hopped excitedly onto the couch to nestle between him and cushion. “Thanks, little guy.” He’d settled the perfect length for Luke to reach down a rest his hand on his head. With nothing to distract him, Luke could feel his ache and bruises keenly. He was tired and almost a little dry and didn’t intend to doze off. 

Luke wasn’t even sure he was dozing. His eyes were flickering shut, but he could see a beautiful woman standing in front of the dark fireplace. Her dark brown hair was pulled back into a beautifully elaborate braid, her gown was made with beautiful blue silk and had a wide skirt as well as an excess of ruffles and ribbons. When she turned around, she smiled. Luke couldn’t help but smile back. 

Was he asleep? His limbs were heavier than he could ever remember them being. He felt hot and leaden and so damn tired. 

She was too beautiful to take his eyes off though, and Luke watched her approach slowly. 

“Luke,” her voice was as sweet as her face, and the tips of her fingers that brushed his still damp hair from his forehead were ice-cold. The only thing he could move were his fingertips, which dug into Gary’s fur. The strange apparition knelt beside the couch and seemed to look him up and down. Luke made a quiet noise as she stepped away, and Vader appeared. He didn’t seem to notice the woman. The older man was staring at him, meeting his flickering eyes once before visibly dismissing him. Through half-lidded eyes, the teenager watched the older man drape a small blanket over him. The warmth descended over him, and Luke felt his eyes slid shut as the beautiful woman muttered in his ears. “You should get some rest.” 

Lightning, followed by a rumble of thunder clashed with the shrill ringing of a telephone jolted Luke awake. He looked wildly around, confused and alarmed. The woman was gone, and his foot was still under a now-warm pack. 

Gary whined at him, and a moment later the ringing stopped and Luke heard Vader’s deep voice echo down the hall. He appeared a second later. 

“Your aunt is on the phone.” 

“Okay,” Luke threw the blanket back and clambered upright. He felt tired, and a little lopsided as he picked up the abandoned receiver. “Aunt Beru.” 

“I’m sorry, Luke,” she cried, “there’s was an awful wreck, and the road headed to his house is totally blocked by police. The ones going around are all back roads and they’re underwater.”

“What? Luke leaned against the wall, ignoring how the dust clung to his shirt. “When do you think you can get here.” 

“I honestly don’t know, Luke. They have to clear the wreck out. They called the poison control people because it was one of the tanks with chemicals. Thankfully a small one, but a driver was hurt. Even if they get that closed down, the news is predicting flooding in all parts of the county.” 

“A lot of bad luck, huh?” Luke closed his eyes, not really sure what to do. “Um, are you alright? You didn’t wreck did you?” 

“No,” she sounded a bit frantic, “I had to drive home. The state troopers don’t want anyone driving out right now. They think it might hail too. There’s so much rain.” 

“This wasn’t a problem we had to deal with in Arizona,” he tried to joke, and she breathed a deep sigh. 

“Luke, are you okay?” 

“I accidentally took a nap, um, my ankle still hurts.” 

“I’m going to have a word with Biggs’ mother,” Beru swore, “I can’t believe that they just left you alone like that.”

“I’m okay, honest,” Luke fiddled with the cord, twisting it around his finger. “Where is Uncle Owen?” 

“He’s on his way home,” Beru said, “work go out early. Please, tell me you’re okay.” 

“Danger, Will Robinson,” Luke joked, the code phrase they had set for his relatives to know that he was okay. The code-phrase that he was in trouble and needed a pick up was a lot more simple, and a lot less obvious. Something that people would expect to hear on a phone call with your aunt. 

“Okay, how is your ankle?” 

“Tender, we iced it so the swellings gone down, but I don’t really want to test it.” 

“Okay,” there was heavy silence. 

“I don’t know what to do,” Luke said and started violently when Vader turned the corner. 

“Mr. Vader said that you could stay the night if need be,” Beru said, and Luke glanced at him. “I hope they get the road clear soon, but I honestly don’t know.” 

“So, ETA?”

“Four hours, at the least,” Beru answered, “maybe not until tomorrow.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It isn’t your fault, Luke. I am going to wack that Darklighter kid myself.”

“Don’t, you’re deadly with that broom of yours.”

“If I can shoo away some border patrol jackboots,” Beru said, “I can deal with a random punk who lost my son.”

“And Camie, and the rest of their crew.” 

“Of course, well.” She took a deep breath. “I already spoke to Mr. Vader. I wanted you to hear from that I wouldn’t be able to make it.” 

“Thanks, Aunt Beru.” Luke continued to knot the cord between his fingers, listening to the regular sound of her breathing. “Um.”

“You should rest your foot. Remember to keep it elevated and ice every 30 minutes or so. Wrap it gently.”

“I will.” 

“Be good, alright. I have to go.”

“I will be, thanks. Love you.”

“Love you too.” He waited until he heard the dial-tone before setting the receiver down. “So, um. I guess you can’t drive me either?”

“Not until the roads are clear and safe,” Vader told him. 

“Okay,” Luke hopped back down the hall and settled on the couch with a heavy sigh. He glanced out the window to see that absolute night had fallen. “How long was I asleep?”

“Two hours.”

“Two hours! You said you’d come back in 30 minutes!” 

“You had fallen asleep.” 

“But,” Luke blushed, “I was awake when you…gave me the blanket.” He decided not to mention the mystery-lady. He wasn’t sure if he was hallucinating or not. 

“Hardly,” the man scoffed as he pulled out the bandages for his foot. With brisk, efficient motions he wrapped his ankle. Luke hissed as Vader once again set an ice-pack on it. 

“Thanks,” Luke muttered, avoiding the bright blue eyes. Vader continued to stare at him, obviously waiting for something. “What is it?” 

“Food?” 

“Food?” Luke was hungry, now that he thought about it. “I’m fine, really.” 

“I’m sure you are.” He didn’t seem to believe Luke. “Wait here.” Like Luke could go anywhere. He rolled his eyes and whistled for Gary. The dog appeared quickly and hopped onto the couch. He settled happily in Luke’s lap. “He is not supposed to be on furniture,” Vader said when he re-entered, carrying a bowl

“He’s not on the furniture,” Luke set his hands protectively over Gary’s ears. “He’s sitting on my lap.” 

“Gary, off.” Luke sighed when Gary hopped down. “Here, eat.” The bowl was full of a thick looking soup, except Luke didn’t recognize most of it. There were chunks of meat and pale white blobs that might be dough. A few vegetables, and peppers floating around in it. He blew on the first spoon-full and tasted careful. It was delicious, and exactly what he needed after the day he had. “So, um. You live all the way out here…”

“Yes?”

“Um, Arizona has mountains, not a lot of hills in some places. I lived in the desert. I think I’m still shaking sand out of some of my clothes.” 

“I hate sand,” Vader said flatly. 

“It’s rough, irritating.” 

“And it gets everywhere,” the man finished his conversation. 

“That’s what I said,” Luke gulped down a few more bites. “That’s what I say. You see pictures and videos of floods and rainstorms and stuff, but you never really think about it as something you could deal with.” 

“Yes,” Vader remained silent, sitting on one of the sheet covered chairs and staring at the empty fireplace. “How long have you live in Canyonville?” He asked, and Luke shrugged. 

“Only a few weeks. “ 

“And you have already fallen in with a bad crowd.”

“A bad crowd, Biggs isn’t a bad…crowd. I think he’s okay. I mean, I don’t know about Camie and the others. They keep calling me Wormie.” 

“Wormie?”

“You know that older movie, Tremors?’ 

“And having lived in the desert means that you are a worm?” 

“Yeah, pretty much.” Luke sighed, “but I don’t think that they’re a bad crowd. Biggs is actually pretty okay?”

“He left you in the woods in the middle of a thunderstorm,” he said dryly, “it doesn’t matter if he is ‘okay’ most of the time. You shouldn’t tolerate such behavior from your friends.” 

“I guess.” 

“Have high standards for friends, Luke.” That odd advice for anyone to five or for anyone to give, much less for a man who lived in a falling down Victorian-era mansion. Even the wall-paper was dusty. 

“Okay.” He finished his soup and leaned back. “That was amazing. Did you make that?” 

“I did,” despite house dim and mopey Vader had seemed the entire interaction, he brightened enough to give Luke a faint smile. It disappeared a second later.

“What were the little dough things?”

“Gnocchi.”

“That’s really good. So, um.”

“Come upstairs.”

“What? Why?” 

“Do you want to spend the night on the couch?”

“I don’t mind,” Luke said honestly.

“You aren’t spending the night on the couch. Come upstairs.” 

“Well, um. HOLY SHIT!” Vader moved faster than Luke could have anticipated, easily scooping him off the couch and carrying him around the house. He instinctively wrapped his arms around his neck and winced when he brushed against the scars. “What are you doing?” 

“Carrying you, obviously.” Vader retorted and Luke swallowed hard as he was carried up the darkened staircase. It didn’t creak or moan, which was a blessing for his already frayed nerves.

“I could have walked,” Luke told him, and couldn’t help but jolt when the lights turned on without either of them touching a switch. “I walked to the phone.” 

“This is a set of stairs,” Vader lightly kicked a door open and finally settled Luke to his one good foot. He switched the light on and Luke wondered if he’d accidentally walked into the past. The room was enormous, the furniture was old looking but well-taken care of and nothing was covered in dust. It seemed dry though as if no one had lived in it for a while. Luke pressed a hand on the bed, and the mattress felt comfortably modern. Vader pointed to the dresser, “there should be something for you to wear in there. Bathroom is through there. Don’t use the shower, it’s broken.” From his pocket, he pulled a set of keys and tossed them over. 

“Thanks!” Luke called and winced when the man retreated without another word. 

Luke shrugged and hopped back over to the door to lock it. After a moments consideration, he hopped to the bathroom and gaped. Just like everything else in the house, it was old. There was an impossibly deep claw-foot tub. The fixtures were wrought-iron and silver. When he turned the knob on the tub, the water was hot almost immediately. Considering he’d hiked 12 miles in a storm, Luke felt pretty justified on filling the tub high with water as hot as possible. 

When he emerged from the tub almost an hour later and changed into the fleece pajamas he’d found in the dresser. He flopped onto the bed with a grateful sigh. Even if Aunt Beru showed up in a few hours, this was amazing.

As freaked out as he was by the whole problem of twisting his ankle and coming across the strange man in the woods; this was a pretty nice house. As creepy as it was…plus the whole business of the ghost lady speaking to him. Well, he wasn’t sure she was a ghost. She could have been part of a dream he was having. 

He tossed under the blankets, twisting around until he almost felt comfortable. The nap must have given him a bit more energy, but he was still utterly tired. His mind still raced. The sound of the rain was keeping him away. It wasn’t a noise he was really used to, and counting sheep didn’t help. 

Aunt Beru must be worried out of her mind. Uncle Owen would probably go yell at the Darklighters. They’d be waiting for new on the conditions of the roads by the radio and television.

Footsteps sounded over his head, and Luke froze. He knew that there were floors above him, but he wasn’t sure where Vader went. He had heard footsteps earlier too. 

His thoughts raced around his head until he fell into a fitful, restless sleep. 

His dream was strange, he was in the same house this time it look younger and the beautiful woman was laying in bed. Her stomach was enormously swollen, and she was arguing with someone Luke couldn’t see. He couldn’t stop staring at her, watching her mouth form harsh words. 

“I don't care if I have to go down south and beat that general senseless. I want my husband back.”

“The war, Padme,” the man said smoothly, and with creepy placating tones. “He’s a soldier!” 

“He’s supposed to be back! He’s supposed to be back! What is keeping him at the front?”

“I couldn’t tell you, my dear, but until it is resolved if he leaves it could be against the law.” 

“I don’t care!” She clutched at the baby bump, visibly worried. “I need him back! I need him to be here when the children are born.” Padme glanced around, catching sight of Luke and gaping. “What the?”

“Can you see me?” Luke asked, startled. He was pretty sure this was a dream. But it felt so real.

“Yes?” She continued to stare, “I can.”

“Padme? What are you talking about?” A hand phased through his stomach. 

Luke jolted awake, heart pounding and sweat dripping off his brow. White light flickered through the curtains, lighting the room. He didn’t know what time it was. How long he’d slept. The dream had been terrifying, but he wasn’t sure why. Sleep seemed out of the question, but getting out of bed and exploring in the middle of the night in a house like this was asking for trouble. Luke stared out the window instead. He’d seen the strange woman twice. She was beautiful, and Luke felt like he recognized her, but he wasn’t sure where. Her loneliness and anxiety, Luke could understand. Whoever Anakin was, he hoped it made it home in time to see the babies. 

For a while, he thought about their move from Arizona. The fact that he still didn’t have a single long-term friend to talk to about his trouble. The fact that college looked too expensive to afford. The fact that he was a long way from home, in a strange house, bruised and hurt, and how much he wanted his aunt to appear and tell him that everything would be alright. 

He sat up and scooted over to the window. Parting the curtains just enough to see out into the dim woods around the house. There was nothing besides the heavy rain, soggy trees, and the indistinct shadowy figure of a stooped man in a suit. 

“What the hell?” Luke blinked, rubbing his eyes until he thought the image would vanish. It didn’t, and the second time Luke looked, the man was staring up at the window. He was old, wrinkled, even at the distance, Luke could see a hateful sneer. He didn’t hear the word, but could easily read his lips when they moved.

“You!” Luke ducked away from the window, gasping and utterly terrified. Heart pounding in his chest as he huddled against the bed. Thunder boomed around him, shaking the house to its foundations. Rattling his bones and eardrum, he whimpered and wanted nothing more than to go home. 

“Just go to sleep. Just go to sleep. Just go to sleep. Just go to sleep.” Luke whispered. “Just go to sleep. Just go to sleep. Just go to sleep.”

#$#$

He jerked awake when someone knocked on the door. 

“What?” He sat up, terrified and his heart surging to his mouth. “Who’s there?” 

“Luke?” He recognized Vader’s voice. The room was still the same, the house was still same, and the night-terrors had been burnt away in the weak sunlight that filtered through the storm clouds and rain. 

“Yeah?” Luke threw back the blankets and hobbled to the door. He pulled it open to see Vader’s confused expression melt into concern.

“Are you alright?” 

“I’m fine,” Luke shook his head, “nightmares, that’s all. Um, did my aunt call?”

“Not yet. I have a fresh ice-pack.” 

“Thanks,” Luke wasn’t sure he could stomach seeing the rest of the house. The lights flickered a few times, and he clutched the white plastic hard. 

“We might lose power,” Vader observed and watched Luke go back to the bed and sit down. “Are you certain you’re alright?” 

“I’m just not used to rainstorms like this,” Luke muttered. His ankle didn’t feel much better, but the swelling had gone down.

“I see,” Vader gave a sharp whistle. A moment later Gary came bounding into the room and jumped for Luke. He picked the excitable pug up and held him close. 

“Thanks,” Luke worked his fingers into the soft fur. 

“Of course,” for his dour and grim attitude, Vader was pretty mild-mannered, if a little grumpy. “Prop your foot up.” 

He did just that, setting the ice-pack on his foot and holding a wriggling Gary close. Not a few minutes later, he heard footsteps on the stairs. Vader came in the room carrying a silver tray.

“What’s that?”

“Breakfast.” The man frowned at him, setting it down and grabbing a tray table that looked like a very small desk. 

“Breakfast in bed?”

“You look terrible. I’d rather not tempt the stairs.” Luke stared down at the tray table and the plate of breakfast the older man set on it. Eggs, some toast, two slices of bacon, and a bowl of sliced fruit. There was a glass of orange juice and water. 

“Wow, are you planning on opening a bed and breakfast?” He covered his face, blushing furiously. “Sorry, I don’t. I think..that. I’m didn’t mean that you opened a bed and breakfast. I ended up here by accident and you didn’t need to bring me breakfast, because I’m sort of crashing your home. I totally didn’t mean to do that, you didn’t even need to.”

“Shut up,” Vader said irritably. Luke clenched his jaw and nodded awkwardly. 

“Thank you,” he shoved fruit into his mouth to shut himself up. Vader sat down in one of the chairs in the room, staring out the window. “Has it been raining all night?” 

“Yes.”

“Do you know the forecast?” 

“No, if your aunt has not called by the time you are dressed you will need to call her.” 

“Okay. Gary, that bacon isn’t yours.” The dog snuffled hopefully for some of the food. “This is delicious, thank you very much.” 

“Five stars?”

“Um, yes.” 

“That’s good at least. After you call your aunt, try to stay off your foot. There is a wide selection of books to choose from in the library downstairs.”

“Oh, thank you.” Luke finished his breakfast in relative silence and went to find some clothes when Vader left the dirty plate and the tray. The clothes he did find were a little bit and way out of style, but they were dry and comfortable. He even found a pair of socks so he didn’t have to walk on the dusty floor barefoot. 

To his surprise, the phone rang just before he reached the receiver. Shrugging, he picked it up. “Hey, Aunty.”

“I’m sorry,” Luke jolted as a familiar voice echoed down the lines. Aged, but the exact same voice he’d heard last night in his dream. The same voice as the man who had talked to the woman. How could a guy who came from the Civil War be calling him through? 

“Um, Aunty?” 

“Obviously not, who is this?”

“Uh, Cummings. Who is this?”

“I’m trying to reach Skywalker.”

“I’m sorry,” Luke said, “but I think you have the wrong number. There’s no one here by the name.” He bit his lip as the terror that had faded when he woke, came racing back. 

“I know that Skywalker lives here, boy. Get him on the phone.”

“Sorry, there isn’t one here.” He checked his surroundings. “We just moved in not too long ago.”

“How long ago?” The old man demanded. 

“I don’t think that’s any of your business,” Luke snapped, “you sound like a creeper. I’m hanging up.” He did just that, breathing out a shaky breath before dialing his aunt. Uncle Owen picked up.

“Luke?”

“Hey, Uncle Owen,” Luke twirled the cord between his fingers, “danger, Will Robinson.” 

“Good, your aunt is still sleeping. Weather report says that we’re expecting even more rain. The bridge is still out of commission.” 

“Darn.” 

“How is your foot?” 

“It’s still pretty sore. It’s wrapped though.” 

“Good, have you eaten something?”

“I just finished breakfast. It was pretty good.”

“Good, I’ll call you as soon as we can get out on the road.”

“Thanks, um, we might lose power here. The lights keep flickering.”

“Hmmm, you be careful, young man.”

“I will, Uncle Owen, thanks.” 

“I looked up this Vader character online. The only thing that comes up with a book series. He’s a writer, I guess.”

“What?”

“Apparently he’s a hermit. No one knows what he looks like or where he lives, but he’s got a whole lot of books.”

“You think it could be the same person?” Luke wondered, and his uncle scoffed.

“Probably, I’ve asked around. The guy who lives on the hill your on is apparently a hermit. Darklighter said he saw a ghost who scared him and his little friends away.” 

“Don’t tell me you yelled at them!” 

“Course I did. They got you lost in the woods. It’s a miracle that anyone found you. Your aunt gave him a few good wacks with her wooden spoon.” Luke grimaced in sympathy. “There’s no such thing as ghosts so you don’t need to worry.” 

“I’m not worried.” But he was. 

“Are you sure you’re alright?” 

“I’m okay, Uncle Owen. Just didn’t get any sleep last night.”

“Alright,” the man sighed, “as long as you’re sure.” 

“I am.” 

“Okay, call us in a few hours.” 

“I will,” Luke let his uncle hang up first. He hobbled down the hall and into the living room. There were still white sheets everywhere, and he moved toward the door that was off to the right. The room was an enormous library, just like Vader had said. There were sheets over the shelves and sculptures. Lights flickered on without his doing. “Wow.” The shelves were tall, and the white dust fell to the ground as he moved one. There were a lot of books that looked old and tome-like, and a lot of modern books with plastic covers with bright colors. Luke, on a mission, scouted for any book with Vader on the side. I doing so, he came across his absolute favorite book. “HEY!” 

“What?’ He hardly paid attention to Vader’s sudden appearance, having gotten used to most of it. 

“You have the Jedi Series!” Luke exclaimed, holding the book up. “I loved these when I was a kid. They were my favorite.” He gazed down at the cover, a girl holding a glowing sword. “I still love these books. You know, my aunt and uncle read them to me when I was sick when I was little. They used to do the voices and everything.”

“Your favorite?” Vader blinked, confused. 

“Oh, yeah. There was a club of Jedi’s. We would meet up sometimes and just talk about the books.” He beamed, and you have the whole set. Well, what is there.”

“They aren’t coming out with the rest of the series,” Vader told him shortly, irritated. 

“I know, I know. It’s been so long since the last book came out.” Luke sighed, “I wish I knew what happened to the author and the story.” He paused and gazed at the author’s name. 

Anakin Skywalker. 

Was that the man the old man was looking for? Why would he be looking for a probably dead author? 

“No doubt he realized how inane and stupid the books were and decided to retreat in shame.” 

“Hey! Just because it isn’t what you’d write,” Luke held the book to his chest, “doesn’t mean it isn’t good writing. I love the Jedi series. I write fanfiction for them even though the last book was published years ago. It helped me when I didn’t have friends. They were read to me when I was sick. I know dozens of people who love these books! It’s not just about romance and sword-fighting. There’s the love Annie has for her mother and her mentor. How she fights for what is right! How she tries to see who the real villain is. I wanted to be Annie when I was little. I took sword fighting classes at the YMCA when I lived in Arizona.” Luke glowered at the older man. “They aren’t bad books. They were about hope and caring, and even if that last book got pretty dark, I bet that if they’re ever finished they’ll be better than Harry Potter.”

“Nothing is better than Harry Potter,” Vader told him, “and you won’t like what I write.”

“What do you write?” 

“Nothing of late.”

“Writer's block?” 

“You could say that.” Vader tilted his head to the side, “how did you know that I write?”

“My uncle told me,” Luke refused to be embarrassed. “He and Aunt Beru looked you up. Wait, don’t you write horror?”

“Sometimes.”

“I think I heard something about that. You don’t let people make movies for your books, do you?” It was kinda strange to realize he’s been spending time with a really famous person. 

“Hollywood is a hive of scum and villainy. I wouldn’t allow them to touch my creations.” 

“Right,” Luke shuffled awkwardly. “Um, I don’t actually like horror. As a genre.” 

“I don’t blame you. Most of the recent work is often misogynistic and ultra-violent. Usually relying on unimaginative jump-scares.”

“I guess, but I’m pretty jumpy. I don’t like getting scared.” 

“Ah.” He took a deep breath and gestured around the room. “Read whatever you like. Do not dog-ear the pages.” 

“I don’t. I won’t,” Luke promised. “thank you.” When Vader was gone, Luke ended up grabbing the first two Jedi books and carrying them back to his room to read. It was like being hugged by an old friend. He knew the books by heart and still enjoyed every word in them. Luke didn’t even jump when the foot-steps sounded above his head a few times. 

“How do you think the story should end?” Vader demanded, shocking Luke into rolling out of his bed and onto the floor. He stared up at the man, stunned. 

“What?” 

“The Jedi series, you’ve read it.”

“Yeah?” Luke wondered what the hell that meant. “A lot of times, why?”

The man froze. “It doesn’t matter,” he shook his head and left the doorway. Luke struggled back into his bed and wondered what the hell that meant. Gary raised his head only long enough to lick his wrist before curling back up into a ball and falling back asleep. 

“Lucky dog,” Luke yawned despite himself. He was pretty tired from a nearly sleepless night. It wasn’t an option to fall asleep because he might revisit the nightmares from before. The strange woman, the creepy man, and the unnerving sense that something was very wrong. Also, the reason he didn’t want to read Vader’s horror, was because he was already pretty sure this house was haunted. It made sense for a man who wrote horror to live in a house like this though. If a woman from the Civil War died in this house, it was a perfect place to set up camp.

He yawned again, stretching out and watching the rain splatter against the windows. He blinked a few times as he caught the reflection of blue. When the now-familiar face appeared and stayed, Luke wondered if he should bother with turning around and investigating. Instead, he stayed facing the window, staring at her eyes and at then her enormous stomach. Their eyes meet, and he gulped. 

She smiled, and Luke remembered why it was so hard to be really scared of someone who seemed so friendly and was so beautiful. 

“Hi,” he breathed. She continued to smile, her hand resting on her stomach. “Are you alright?” He was shocked when she gave a non-committal shrug. “Oh. Um, why….are you here?” Was that a polite thing to ask a ghost? Could you ask a ghost a question like that? The woman, Padme, rubbed her baby bump affectionately a few times. That made no sense to Luke, who could only shrug. 

His mouth ran dry as she moved closer and closer to the bed, her reflection in the window getting larger with each step until she hovered right behind him. A cold, unpleasent draft seemed to suck the warmth from the air around him. Luke could only stare as Padme bent to the side. He heard pages in his book flipping around a few times. Muscles seized up as he watched the reflection of her pale hand approach his shoulder. He clenched his eyes shut, waiting for the freezing cold touch. When it didn’t come he opened his eyes and watched her expression turn sad. She seemed genuinely distressed to see that Luke was afraid. A moment later she faded from view, and Luke whipped around to see an empty bedroom. After several minutes of a steadily thrumming central heater, the cold eventually dissipated as well. Still, Luke shivered and glared down at the sleeping pub. 

“Some guard dog you are,” Luke grumbled, “you don’t even bark when there’s a ghost.”

The rest of the day alternated between worrying, reading, and dozing. He was dozing when Vader knocked on the door and poked his head through. 

“Lunch,” he grumbled and waited for Luke to sit up. “Are you ill?” 

“I think I’m okay? Hopefully, I don’t get sick from wandering around in the rain. I’d hate to be more of a bother.”

“It’s fine,” Vader set the tray on the desk. He crossed the room to check out Luke’s wrapped ankle. “How does it feel?” 

“Much better, thanks. I don’t know about walking on it yet, but it doesn’t hurt as much when I’m just laying down.” 

“That is good.” There was an awkward pause, and Luke thought Vader wasn’t as scary as he had seemed initially. He was…tired, obviously. Grumpy and surly, but wounded and depressed, and Luke sort of wanted to cheer him up. He certainly wasn’t as scary as the ghost and the nightmares. 

“So, are you working on a project?” 

“Hmmm,” the older man’s bright blue eye focused on him, assessing. “Perhaps.”

“Perhaps? What does that mean?”

“Not much,” Vader stood and gave Luke’s hair a tousle. He hissed like a cat, batting the enormous limb away and trying to straighten his hair. 

“Come on, I don’t have hairbrush! And you know that you don’t have to bring me food, right? I can go get it myself.”

“Your aunt seems fearsome. I’d rather not risk her wrath.” 

“She’s not,” Luke shrugged, “she’s a little scary, but she doesn’t mean it. She’s not that scary.” 

“I have met scary,” the writer shrugged, “I said fearsome.” 

“Oh, right.” Luke wondered what the difference was.

“You’ve gotten along far in the book,” Vader nudged one of the Jedi books. 

“I know them by heart,” Luke grinned, “its easy to read something you love.”

“Is it?” His brows furrowed into a scowl. 

“Um, Mr. Vader, can I ask you something?”

“You just did.”

“A couple of things,” Luke amended.

“What is your question?” He watched him closely, and Luke gulped. 

“Are you alright?”

“No,” Vader held up his hands, prosthetic and flesh, “you could consider me all left.” 

The joke took a moment to register, but when it did Luke groaned and pulled a pillow over his face. He laughed until he was breathless. “A real question,” Luke said eventually, scowling despite his grin at the unrepentant man. Vader hand his arms crossed and seemed unimpressed. 

“What?” 

“It’s just…your…scars?” Vader stiffened, the humor sliding off his face like butter on a hot pan. He moved to stand, but Luke lunged forward to grab his shirt-sleeve. “I just.” 

“Why would you ask about something that personal?” He boomed, almost yanking Luke off the bed as he pulled his arm away. 

“I just wanted to ask if you were in pain! I’m worried! I’ve seen you grimacing and, I think they’re bothering you! I just wanted to see if you alright!” 

“What?” Luke clung grimly to the sleeve, feeling ridiculous as Vader held him, seemingly effortlessly, over the mattress. He stared at the younger man, blinked a few times. 

“I’m just worried. I know scars and things can hurt a lot when there’s bad weather. Uncle Owen’s got a bad leg that hurts when it rains. I…I’m sorry!” 

“I’m,” Vader chocked on the word, still staring at Luke as he’d never seen him before. 

“You’re right that it’s none of my business how you got them or anything like that. I’m not asking that. I’m just asking if you’re alright? If you’re okay!” 

“Why?” Vader lowered his arm, and Luke finally let go when he was sure the man wouldn’t take off. He sank back against the pillows, watching the writer. 

“Why?” 

“Why are you worried?” 

“Well, you’ve been so nice…and really patient with me. You didn’t have to help or do anything.”

“Are you suggesting that I would have been right to leave you with a sprained ankle in the middle of a storm in the middle of winter?” 

“Well…” 

“And that as a host I would have no obligation to feed you?”

“Um.”

 

“It is only common sense and decency that I help. For base and bare hospitality, you still worry?” 

“Yes?” Luke jerked away as Vader forcefully began to straighten his clothes. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up. I mean, it isn’t super polite to bring that sort of stuff up, but I know a tea that can.” 

“Eat your lunch,” Vader finally snapped, turning away from Luke in a precise, snapping motion. He marched to the door, pausing just for a second. “Do not ask again, young man.” The door shut with a quiet snap, and Luke turned over to scream into the pillow with frustration. One simple question and he’d ruined it! 

He spent a few minutes sulking and feeling sorry for himself before he got up to eat. After calling Uncle Owen and assuring him that he was okay, Luke retreated to his room and continued to sulk. He wasn’t sure what he could do to make the man feel better. Was there a way he could apologize? 

Plus, Luke was more than freaked out about the ghost lady. He wasn’t superstitious by nature, or even overly religious. Ghosts were a thing that other people worried about and Luke wasn’t sure how to bring up the ghost without further offending the horror writer. 

A long, uneventful day passed. Some of it spent staring out the window and watching the rain, almost looking for the old man again. The woman didn’t appear, and Luke fell asleep hoping that the nightmare wouldn’t return. 

“Padme?” Luke blinked a few times as brilliant golden sunlight filled the room, and he caught sight of a small nervous young man standing at the foot of the bed. “Are you alright, Padme?”

“I’m fine, Threepio,” Luke said, and he wondered at the voice coming out of his mouth. It wasn’t his voice but was sweet and feminine. “My feet are hurting and the twins are doing a jig on my bladder.”

“Well,” the man came around the corner of the bed and patted his stomach. Luke wasn’t surprised, by the sort of was, when he looked down to see an enormous stomach hidden beneath blankets and fabric. “Pregnancy is like that. Only a few more weeks.”

“A few more days, more like,” Luke joked with a mouth that wasn’t his and in a voice that wasn’t his. “Twins always come early. No word from Anakin?”

“None, milady. Nothing from Artoo either. They’re both on the war front, and I’m getting more and more frantic.” 

“Artoo will be fine,” Luke patted the thin hand, “he’s with Anakin.” 

“We hope that they’re back in time for the babies, but…” 

“I need him, Threepio. I need him to come back and be with me. I need him to see the children. I,” Luke covered his mouth, leaning to the side, there were tears in his eyes. 

“Padme?”

“I’m afraid he won’t get to see the children,” he admitted. Luke tried to move, he tried to speak, he tried to blink by himself, but he was stuck. Terror welled in his heart, but he was still a prisoner in this strange scene. “I’m afraid, Threepio. Something’s wrong.” 

“What do you mean?” Threepio seemed friendly and obviously loved Padme. “What’s wrong?” 

“Sheev is hiding something,” he whispered, “he’s hiding something and I don’t feel safe anymore. He’s been acting weird and…obsessive.” You’re in danger, Luke thought. You’re in danger. “I think I’m in danger.” Her fear seemed to coil in Luke’s stomach 

“Padme?” 

“You breathe a word of this to anyone. You can’t tell Sheev or the others. You have to believe me.” 

“Your instincts have never been wrong, milady. What?” 

“There are too many guards,” Luke whispered, gripping the man’s wrist tight. “I’m watched too much. I came out to the country to have the babies in peace. They’re acting like someone is about to storm the hill.”

“I suppose there’s an excess of security.” 

“Sheev won’t give me updates on Anakin. He keeps suggesting the Anakin is unfaithful, that he’s too young to care.” 

“Anakin would never, milady. I’ve known him since he was young.” 

“I know,” Luke leaned back against the headboard, and glanced to the side to see the bedpost was wobbling. That was different from when Luke saw the bedpost. It was straightened and sturdy. “I know, but every instinct is to tell me that something is wrong.” 

“I believe you,” Threepio told her, “I believe you.” They both started as someone barged into the room. Luke wondered how the hell the time had jumped from the Civil War to the early 2000s. He wore an old suit and carried an ugly flip-phone. 

“Padme,” the old man was the same old man Luke has seen lurking outside the house the night before. He wondered if he had managed to look back in time somehow. He couldn’t be dead, because Luke had heard his voice on the phone earlier. “We’re having trouble reaching Dr. Ben.” 

“What? How? He’s supposed to be waiting for the call!” Something was wrong, and everyone knew it. 

“I’m sorry, my dear. We can get a local doctor in to make sure nothing goes wrong.”

“Where is Dr. Ben,” Padme demanded, “I want to talk to him.” Sheev crossed the room, looking old and creep, like every villain Luke ever saw in a movie. 

“It’s alright, Padme, everything will be fine with the children. Your delivery will go perfectly.” He gave a smile that sent shivers down his spine. 

“Where is Anakin? Did anyone get a hold of him?” 

“I’m sorry, but no. Hopefully, he’ll be home soon?” 

“Yes,” Luke gripped the bed sheets, feeling every ache and pain. “I need Anakin.”

Luke shivered furiously as he tried to wake himself up. He needed to be back in his own time. Where there wasn’t a creepy old man, and he wasn’t somehow a woman in his nightmares. It didn’t seem to be working, he tried to do something, but the body wasn’t responding. It wasn’t until something freezing cold tapped his forehead did Luke manage to yank his eyes open and jackknife out of bed. His chest heaved and he gasped for air, sweat dripping from his brow and every nerve alit with fear. 

“Oh, God. Oh, God.” He hugged himself, feeling the familiar lines and planes of his own body that moved at his command. “Oh my god.” He glanced down his shirt, holding out his hands and tracing the scars he remembered getting and the ones he didn’t. He was back in his own body, he was awake, and he honestly wasn’t sure if he’d ever sleep again. 

Who was the woman? What had happened to her? Who was Anakin? Why was he gone? What the hell was up with Sheev? What kind of name was that? He had some sort of scheme about, and Padme was right to be afraid. 

But she was long-dead, that Luke knew as a gut instinct. She had died. 

He couldn’t sleep like this. It was too dark, and Luke was laying in the bed that Padme had laid in. Feeling sick, and gross, he got up and flipped the lights on. The room was flooded with warm, welcoming light, and Luke breathed an easier sigh. Thankfully his ankle didn’t feel as stiff and painful as it had previously. It only twinged a bit when he walked on it. 

From his vantage point at the chair, Luke could practically see the scene he’d dreamt. He shivered under a sudden draft and cold air. 

“Why are you doing this?” Luke asked he squeezed his eyes shut and knew that the woman was back. “I’m sorry, but why are you doing this?” He opened his eyes to see Padme standing in the middle of the room. She was wearing a pale nightgown, her hair was hanging to her waist, her hands were clasped over her belly, and she was crying silently. “I’m sorry.” He muttered. “I’m so sorry.” Her wide brown eyes continued staring at him before she reached up with one hand to touch her forehead. Luke copied the motion and knew instantly that she had been the one to wake him. He wasn’t sure when he fell asleep, only that he woke up to the phone ringing. 

Instinct and long years of practice of diving for the phone first had Luke bouncing down the stairs and rushing to the phone before anyone else could get it. His ankle twinged painfully, which he ignored as he picked the receiver up. 

“Hello.”

“Who is this?” The old man’s voice was back, and Luke tightened his grip on the phone.

“Uh, this is the Cummings household, who is this? Wait,” he glanced around to make sure Vader wasn’t around. “Is this the old creeper from yesterday?”

“Old creeper?” Sheev, Luke was pretty sure that was his name, sounded offended. 

“Yeah, hey, lose this number before I report yours to the cops for harassment.” Luke slammed the receiver down just in time to hear Vader come down the stairs. “Telemarketer,” he told him.

“Damn vultures,” Vader sighed, not looking at all surprised. He was wearing a pair of glasses that seemed to be perched mostly on his nose, not his ears since there wasn’t much left of them. Luke scuffed his foot against the floor, feeling the discomfort filling the room. 

“I’m sorry about yesterday,” he told him, “I…”

“It is…no matter.” Vader waved the apology off, turning toward the living room. Luke followed, careful of his ankle, into the living room and through a dining room where everything was covered in a dusty white sheet. They came upon a white tarp, splattered with paint and that was taped above a doorway. Vader pushed it aside and vanished. Curious, Luke followed and gaped when he entered into a kitchen that was so wildly modern that it was at odds with the historic, old-fashioned rest of the house. 

The refrigerator was sleek, steel and polished chrome. Vader opened it to pull out a carton of eggs. Luke saw two gallons of milk, orange juice, packages of meat and vegetables. He blinked hard, glancing at the enormous and ultra-modern gas stove. The dishwasher that was apparently packed with the fancy antique dishes. The fanciest sink faucet he’d ever seen, sleek wood cabinets that didn’t match the rest of the house, granite counter-tops, and a black tile floor. 

“What the hell?” 

“Hmm?” Vader turned away, but Luke caught the edge of a faint grin. “What’s wrong?”

“You,” Luke watched the coffee maker, high-tech and with more buttons than an aircraft carrier, flip on. He swallowed down an outraged shout. “Have a nice kitchen.” 

“Thank you.” Vader was definitely grinning now, and Luke scowled. “Take a seat, rest that ankle of yours.”

He did so, scowling the entire way. He watched Vader prepare breakfast, managing it perfectly without the use of his right arm. It was pretty impressive, and Luke only felt a little guilty about the fact that he was annoyed. 

“I was not upset with you, truly,” Vader said when he finally slid a plate of breakfast in front of Luke and took a second for himself.

“I shouldn’t have brought it up,” Luke said quickly. 

“Let me finish,” there was a hard edge to his tone that made Luke gulp. Vader breathed out a heavy sigh. “I was startled that you…asked if I was in pain. When someone asks they ask about how I got them. Not if I still suffered.”

“Oh,” Luke poked at the eggs with his slice of bacon.

“I,” Vader looked as if the words pained him, “appreciate your concern.” Luke swallowed some food, and Vader began to eat. “Have you not slept?”

“Um,” Luke shrugged, “I’ve been having nightmares and…the storm is keeping me awake.” Both men turned when Gary hopped into the kitchen, barking. 

“Hold on,” Vader picked up the little dog and carried him out the door in the rear of the kitchen that led into a mudroom and then out the back door. “Do you normally have nightmares?” He asked when he returned.

“Not really. I guess it’s the weather though.”

“I see.” There was a long, more awkward silence. 

“Do you ever get lonely here?” 

“Here?”

“Alone? I mean, Canyonville is 12 miles away. The nearest semi-large town is 45 minutes. You’re pretty isolated up here on the hill.”

“That’s the way I like it. Canyonville is a pit.”

“You don’t like it?”

“It is full of ultra-conservative, gossip-mongering, hypocritical, and snooty morons. I warned you against Biggs Darklighter.” Luke nodded. “He and his little friends used to think it was a game to try and break into this house. It was funny to harass me and my house.”

“Did you tell them to get off your lawn?”

“I was still in recovery,” Vader told him, and scooted back from the table. He rolled his pant-leg up to his knee, and Luke took in the sight of a sleek, shockingly elaborate prosthetic leg. “My left is the same.”

“I’m so sorry,” Luke covered his mouth, gaping at the sight. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. I’ve been complaining out by ankle and you’re here with three prosthetics! I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Vader shrugged, “it was years ago. These are the most recent model, with my own modifications. Your ankle is important. Damaging it this young can have lasting repercussions.” 

“Yeah, but you lost both your legs.”

“No, I didn’t,” Vader told him. Luke blinked rapidly. “I didn’t lose them, I know exactly where they are. Or where they were, no doubt they’ve decomposed by now.” Luke jerked away from his breakfast, grimacing. “My apologies.”

“If you were in recovery then what did you do about Biggs?” 

“That,” Vader buried his grin in his coffee cup, “is something you will have to ask young Darklighter. I agreed to never speak of how the issue was resolved.”

“Wow, I guess Biggs is kind of a jerk.”

“It is possible his piss poor attitude has improved,” Vader said as if he thought that wasn’t the case, “in Canyonville, his family is the richest. I doubt he faces few consequences.”

“I don’t know,” Luke said, “I think my aunt watched him a few times.”

“Well done, Mrs. Lars,” Vader smiled to himself. “Your clothes are clean and dry if you would like them back.” 

“I would, but I’ve got to call my aunt and uncle. They’ve got to be worried.” Luke sighed, “I’ve never seen this much water in my life. I can’t believe it’s still raining.” Now, in the weak morning daylight, in a beautiful modern kitchen, his nightmares seemed miles away. Padme seemed miles and miles away, hidden in the dark. 

“You get used to it eventually.”

“I guess.” Luke took his dirty plate to the sink and rinsed it off. “Um, thanks for breakfast.” Vader waved him off, pulling a phone out of his pocket. A very new phone that had it’s own stylus. He nearly threw his hands up in exasperation and half-stomped and half-limped from the kitchen. In the living room, he surveyed the room and scoffed. 

The spell had been broken. The house was a still a little creepy, but the mystique was gone. The rest of the house was old and clearly well-preserved, and Luke had honestly been low-key concerned with the idea that he could have fallen back in time. It was a stupid fear, but one put to rest by the appearance of modern appliances and a shiny faucet. 

Vader even had a smartphone. 

Luke picked up the receiver and dialed his aunt, frowning at the antiquated communication device. 

“Luke,” Aunt Beru picked up after a few rings, “are you alright? It’s a little early.”

“Sorry, I haven’t really seen a clock in days. This house is old. I’m okay, I’m almost able to walk on the ankle.” 

“That’s good,” Beru sighed, “the bridge is still out, and now they’re worried about flooding. It could be even longer before you could come home.” 

“Oh,” Luke leaned against the wall. This wasn’t a bad place, and it had a problem with the ghost. Plus he was still suffering from nightmares. Ultra-modern kitchen or not, there was something fishy going on here. “I guess that’s okay. I just really miss you guys.”

“I miss you too.” 

“Danger, Will Robinson,” Luke heard her breath a heavy sigh of relief. Their conversation ended after a few minutes and Luke went to get dressed in his own clothes. Once dressed, and after testing recovering ankle, Luke set off the explore the enormous house. 

It was old fashioned in almost every room. There were corners upon corners, wallpapered walls and elaborate crown molding, crystal doorknobs. An empty, un-used office. A children’s bedroom with a pair of twin beds. They had awnings coming down to cover the edges and each had an identical stuffed rabbit sitting upright in front of the pillow. 

Luke shivered as he tapped the end of one of the beds. It looked perfectly clean, no sign of dust or yellowing from age. As if two kids were about to come running up the stairs and bounce onto the beds. He retreated from the room and down the hall found another bathroom. This one was larger but pretty much bare. Luke didn’t think anyone used it. 

On the first floor, Luke found the library and explored further to find a laundry room. The appliances were as high tech as the kitchen ones, but there was an enormous tin washing tub about three feet across and two feet deep. An old washboard was leaning against one of the sides. Behind a section of white tarp, Luke found a construction site. He paused, rubbing his eyes and then cursing at himself. 

The drywall wasn’t finished yet, white dust covered every inch of the room. 

Drywall dust! The entire first floors public spaces were covered in drywall dust! 

Vader wasn’t living in some pit and like a ghost! He was actively renovating the old house! Luke had been terrified of dry-wall dust and sheets set over furniture to protect them. He wanted to kick himself and retreated to the end of the hallway. 

At the very end of the first floor, out through a foggy and opaque glass door, Luke found an enormous conservatory. Plants of every size and shape, some trees and flowers too, took up most of the space. Rain splattered against the glass ceiling, sending a steady thundering echo through the room. It was warmer in here than anywhere else in the house. The shocking amounts of bright green and color, nearly sent Luke reeling. 

How had he missed this? This took up a huge portion of the back of the house! How had he missed it? There was a white metal spiral staircase that rose to the third floor and a door Luke didn’t recognize. He climbed the staircase and found himself opening the door into the hallway of the third floor. One by one he poked his head in, finding nothing interesting until he opened the door of the room that was probably directly above his.

Unlike the rest of the house, this room was dirty. Crowded with boxes upon boxes and files and books. One wall was taken up by a cork board, red string connected the pictures and newspaper clippings. Luke gaped, inching to get a closer look. 

He stared at the clipping in the middle. 

PADME AMIDALA DEAD! Poor Health Blamed! 

It was a picture of the woman Luke had seen in his dreams. The woman who kept appearing in his dreams and to him. The ghost. 

He followed the string. AMIDALA’S CHILDREN VANISH, and then another, and then more all centering around the woman. There were pictures of people taken from far away. The old man, Sheev, the man Threepio. An Indian woman with long braids and a beautiful sari, a short man in a blue and white suit. 

Padme Amidala was an actress. A famous one from before Luke’s birth. 

Luke turned around to open the boxes. There was credit card information, dates and amount highlighted. There were tickets and itineraries. 

“What the hell?” Luke paused as he opened a box and found a photograph in a plastic bag. It was the woman Padme, in a white gown and a lace veil. She stood in front of a taller man, handsome and wearing his dress uniform. They were smiling wildly, not caring about the camera focused on their beautiful smiles. “Wow.” He turned the bag over, and nearly choked when he read the words, FBI Evidence. There was writing on the back of the photo and knew what they were going to be before they registered. 

‘Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala, wedding July 14, 2000, Villa del Balbianello, Italy’ 

Luke turned the picture back over, admiring the lovely couple. It was obvious they were in love. His favorite author had been married to an actress. Sometimes later she died, and Anakin Skywalker had fallen off the map that same year. 

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN HERE?” Luke whirled around, instinctively punching the strange man that had appeared out of nowhere. He was blocking the door but went tumbling against the block of boxes. Luke rushed past him, terrified and yelling at the top of his lungs.

“VADER! VADER!” 

“You!” The strange man recovered before Luke could make it to the stairs, tackling the backs of his legs. Luke yelled as his ankle twisted, and he collapsed painfully.

“VADER!” He screamed, slamming his fists on every available surface he could reach. Punching and kicking, trying to get his legs clear. “VADER!”


	2. Chapter 2

“Luke!” He heard the alarmed yelled and heard the man pounding up the stairs. When he came upon the tussling pair, he yanked Luke up. “PIETT! LET HIM GO!”

“WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!” Luke shouted, clinging desperately to Vader. Terrified out of his mind and shaking from pain and fear. “HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN HERE!”

“Sir! He was in the room!” Piett jabbed a hand at the door they’d sprinted through. He looked thin, tired, and gray. His face was red, and he seemed almost as freaked out as Luke. 

“Luke?” Vader glanced down at him and shook his head. “What were you doing in there?” 

“How long has he been here! How long has he been hiding on the third floor? I thought I was going crazy! Hearing the footsteps upstairs and someone on the stairs! How long have you been here?” 

“Weeks,” Vader silenced the man before he could speak. “Luke.” 

“No! What the hell is going on? I’m…I know I’m crashing but I would have been nice to know that there as some random old man running around on the third floor with a board of crazy!” 

“It is part of an investigation,” Piett hissed, “not a board of crazy! I’m with the FBI!” 

“Why do you have an FBI agent hiding in your attic?” Luke got a better look at the harried man, “have you been eating cockroaches?” 

“What?”

“Luke! Piett” Vader hadn’t removed his arm from around Luke’s shoulders, which was great because his ankle was aching something fierce. “Please, stop shouting. Luke, you don’t need to be scared of Piett.”

“He punched me!” The agent exclaimed.

“You appeared out of nowhere, shouting at me! I’ve never seen you before in my life! I’m alone in the giant house in the middle of the woods! What the hell did you think would happen? MORON!”

“Have to give him that,” Vader muttered, ”Luke, Piett, just come downstairs and we can discuss it.” 

“Discuss the fact that he’s been lurking up in the attic this whole time!” 

“Yes,” Vader said firmly, “did you hurt your foot again?” 

“He tackled me,” Luke glowered, and yelped when Vader scooped him up. “HEY! I can walk!” 

“Yes, yes, I know.” Vader seemed too tired to deal with anything and nodded his head to Piett to follow. They ended up in his office, and Luke glowered as Piett sat in the chair next to him. “Piett, this is Luke Lars. Luke this is Firmus Piett. He is an FBI agent. The reason I did not tell you that Piett was here is because.” 

“SIR!” 

Vader ignored the protest, “is because he’s investigating a very power and very rich man who will literally have him killed if he finds out that he is on this trail.”

“Sheev?” Luke asked, and both men stared at him.

“How?” 

“He’s on the wall, and you have pictures of him and credit card records. Plus….I think he’s been calling?” 

“What?” Vader blinked a few times, looking blindsided for the first time since Luke had met him. “What do you mean?” 

“I mean,” Luke said, “that a creepy old guy has called this place twice.”

“And?” Vader demanded. Piett was covering his face in his hands, and groaning miserably. “What did you say?”

“Said that my last name was Cummings and that there wasn’t anyone with the name Skywalker. I mean, Anakin Skywalker vanished. He never finished his books,” Luke held up the picture he’d grabbed, “he probably died in the war before he could make it home.” There was a moment of dark, unhappy silence. Vader cleared his throat. 

“Skywalker is dead,” he told Luke harshly.

“I guess that’s why he never finished his books,” Luke sank into his seat, brooding. “Poor guys.”

“Mr. Vader is cooperating with me on my investigation and you cannot, absolutely cannot let anyone know what’s going on.”

“You…you were keeping up appearances!” Luke sat up. “The bitter old man at the top of the hill! The creepy house! I saw the construction site and the drywall dust! You didn’t have to act like a fucking creeper.” 

“Do not curse at me, young man,” Vader told him tightly. “I was absolutely keeping up appearances. Tell me about your phone call with Palpatine.” 

“Who?”

“The old man on the phone. His name is Sheev Palpatine,” Piett glance at him from between a gap in his fingers. 

“He called, I picked up to think it, my aunt. He said it wasn’t, and I got creeped out. I told him this house belonged to the cummings family, and then he demanded to know how long I’d lived here. I told him that was none of his business and hung up. I, uh, also called him a creeper.” 

“You called Sheev Palpatine a creeper and hung up on him?” Vader buried his head in his hands. 

“He called back today. I told him to lose this number or I’d report him to the cops.” Vader continued to laugh weakly. “What’s wrong?”

“He knows that we’re here or at least he suspects,” Piett pursed his lips. 

“It’s only a matter of time before he sends someone out to look at the house and see what’s going on,” Vader slumped back in his seat. “It’s useless. He’ll get off, Piett.” 

“The case we’ve been building.” 

“Is all circumstantial.”

“The jury.” 

“He’s a rich old man, he’s white and he’s a producer. He’s going to get away scot-free.” Vader slumped into his seat, now the one covering his eyes. “Luke, please go back to your room.”

“He can’t send anyone out here!” Luke exclaimed, “the roads are washed out, the bridge is closed off. There isn’t a way to get to the house unless you want to drown or be arrested for trying to drown! You have time!” 

“Luke,” Vader said quietly, “you shouldn’t be involved in this. You shouldn’t even be here.”

“But,” Luke sputtered, “but I can help!” 

“How?” 

“I don’t know! I just want to help! There’s got to be something I can do!” 

“If the phone rings, answer it and say that it’s the Cummings,” Piett suggested. “That could throw Palpatine off our trail.” 

“I can do that,” Luke said, “I can do that.”

“Don’t say anything suspicious,” Vader warned him, “act like a spoilt brat and hang up. Don’t let him get a word in edge-wise.” He grinned a bit, “shouldn’t be too difficult.” 

“Humph,” Luke crossed his arms but wasn’t really offended. “You know, you’re kind of a diva.”

“Diva?” Piett perked up, “what did he do?” 

“He was all scary, right? And the house is old and scary. I didn’t see a piece of tech until I went into the kitchen today. I honestly thought that I could have fallen back in time or something. Two days he goes on having me use the old phone on the first floor with the spinning dial.” 

“I'm actually surprised you knew how to use it,” Vader mused, rubbing his chin. 

“That thing actually works?” 

“Yes!” Luke exclaimed. “It works and I’ve been calling my aunt and uncle on an antique!” 

“Why don’t you have your own phone?” Piett asked, and Luke hunched his shoulder defensively.

“Phones are expensive,” he grumbled, “but anyway. He’s got the whole house in the mix, the rainstorm, the footsteps overhead. He was trying to freak me out.” 

“Only a little,” Vader interjected, “but I have a reputation to maintain and if you weren’t so nosy, you would have never have found out about Piett. Which was the plan initially.”

“I’m not nosy! I was curious. Wouldn’t you be curious about the haunted house people are apparently afraid of?” 

Vader waved him off. “Luke, please go downstairs. Remember to ice and wrap your foot. No details of this conversation or the presence of a second person in this house, alright?” 

“Got it,” Luke gave him a cheerful thumbs up. “No problem.” He walked down the hall and snuck back to the door to listen in. 

“Is it possible that Palpatine is making more obvious moves because he knows where the children are?” 

“A distinct possibility,” Piett answered, “if he plans to bring the twins into the spotlight and rob them of their inheritances. It's also possible he might want to kill them and you so he could finally inherit her estate properly instead of being the holder of it.” 

The conversation went too quiet to hear so he retreated downstairs. Unfortunately, the day passed without incident. Vader made lunch and then dinner without anyone calling the house. Piett didn’t make a second appearance, apparently hiding away on the third floor for the sake of his research and the fact that Luke still didn’t trust him in the slightest. 

He went to bed a little nervous. Without a doubt, Padme would be in his dreams tonight. She was afraid, frightened for her life, and almost totally alone in her world. Her children were due any day now, and she needed help. 

Why had she been visiting Luke though? Why appear to him the first night there? Why haunt his dreams? Did he have a connection to her? Couldn’t she visit Vader or Piett? Under his blankets, holding a pillow to his chest and staring out the window at the continuous rain splattering against the glass. 

The hair on the back of his neck stood up straight as a draft of freezing cold hair that preceded one of her visits washed over him. Luke closed his eyes tightly and sat up. It was less frightening now that he knew some of what was going on. Now that he knew Vader wasn’t someone to be totally scared of. 

He turned toward the room, and Padme stood at the edge of his bed near the footboard. She was smiling faintly at him. 

“Hi,” he twisted his fingers in the blanket. “Um, are you alright?” She shrugged, and Luke almost laughed. “Sorry, that was a dumb question. I shouldn’t have asked.” Padme continued to smile, sitting on the end of his bed. The blankets and bed didn’t move or creak, it was as if nothing was sitting there. “Why are you visiting me?”

“You are Luke,” she said, her voice quiet and echoing off nothing. 

“Yes, I’m Luke. I mean, why not Vader or that other guy? Why me?” Padme traced a pattern on the blanket, shrugging her shoulders. “I don’t mind, really. You do scare me a bit.” She looked up, disappointed and sad. “It’s okay. I’m scared easily and you’re not terrible or throwing things or doing the stuff other ghosts. You just…seem to have an interest in me?” She nodded. “Oh, okay.” Luke leaned against the headboard and pulled Gary closer. The dog glanced at her and snuggled into his lap. He watched her watch him until the silence was unbearable. “I saw the wedding photo. It looked like you guys loved each other a lot.” She nodded. “And you got married in Italy. It seemed really nice. I’ve always wanted to visit Italy. I’ve always wanted to travel. I never have…except when we moved. It isn’t that I like the desert, but it was home, you know. Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru miss it too I think. I miss my…I wouldn’t call them friends, but I miss the people I knew. Cassian, I knew him. Him and Jyn were the coolest in the town. Her dad was an astronomer that was stationed out at the dinky little observatory. There were a couple of others too,” Luke yawned, covering his mouth and shuddering from the force of it. The rain and Vader’s cooking did a too good of a job of putting him to sleep quickly.

Plus, Vader had made a cup of apology hot chocolate which had been the best hot cocoa that Luke had ever tasted. He was torn between being too awake and too sleepy to handle anything. 

“You know I’ve never seen this much rain in my life. I didn’t even know there could be so much rain.” She watched him closely. “Have you ever seen this much rain?” She nodded, glancing toward the window but mostly kept her attention on him. Luke tried not to get creeped out. “So do you like Mr. Vader?” Padme tilted her head to the side, pressing her lips together in a delicate frown. “He lives in your house. You have to see him around, right?”

“He is lonely,” she leaned over to pet Gary. The dog twitched, whining pitifully and curling up against Luke. Her expression fell again and Padme looked even more depressed.

“I got that feeling too, but I’m not sure he’d be interested in making friends in town.” 

“Come,” she got up and moved soundlessly toward the door. “Come.”

“Now?” Luke asked, stunned. “It’s late. I’m already in bed.”

Padme grinned and gestured for him again.

“I’m going to get in trouble,” he groused, pushing the blankets back and dumping Gary on the other side of the bed and limping after the ghost. She led him to the third floor, past the evidence room and toward the door that had previously revealed an empty closet. Now though, a long staircase was extended downward. There was another floor? How was there any more room in the house? Padme wafted to the top of the stair, and from the glow surrounding her, Luke could see another door behind her. He tried to climb up as quietly as possible. The door was cracked open a bit. AT Padme’s impatient wave he leaned around. 

It was a large attic room, Vader was seated at a desk and tapping furiously at a computer. His outline was illuminated by the glowing screen, and he seemed wholly focused. This room was comfortable and seemed to be well-lived in. Not perfectly coifed and empty like the other rooms. 

He was lonely, Luke realized. Vader needed company and he needed friends.

Padme drifted through the door, and Vader shrugged against cold. 

“Going to have to fix that damn door eventually,” he muttered. Only Luke could see Padme standing behind. She tried to touch his shoulder, but it went through. 

“Damn it.” That was when Luke realized that Vader was sitting in a wheelchair. When he turned around his legs weren’t attached and Luke caught sight of the rounded ends of his legs right above the knee. He reached over on another table and picked up a heavy white pad. Slinging it over his shoulder and pressing a button, the writer leaned back in his chair, sighing. “Getting too old for this shit,” he muttered, and Luke watched Padme sigh before wafting through the door and standing beside him. After another minute, Luke crept back down to his room and crawled under the blankets in an attempt to calm his racing heart. 

“I shouldn’t have done that,” he muttered as Padme reappeared. “That was an invasion of privacy.” 

“Lonely,” she said again. 

“I can try to be friends with him. I don’t think he’ll want to be friends though. I’m just some punk who accidentally ended up in his house.”

“Try it,” she told him. Luke yawned and leaned back. He was too tired to handle anything serious right now. 

“I’ll try,” he promised, watching through half-lidded eyes and Padme tried to smooth out his blankets again. It didn’t scare him at all now. It was a gesture that was familiar from Aunt Beru, and sometimes Uncle Owen. He wasn’t scared of her as he had been before. 

“Get some sleep,” she suggested.

 

“I’ve been having horrible nightmares. I don’t want to get sleep, because I know that I’ll just have bad dreams. I’ve been having bad dreams about you.” She closed her eyes, there were silvery tears marking down her face. She trailed an incorporeal hand down the bedpost to his right. A moment later she vanished, and Luke wondered if he’d screwed it up somehow.

Eventually, he managed to fall asleep with Gary sleeping on his chest. 

#$#$#$

Vader jolted awake at the first scream that reverberated through the house. He was up and putting on his prosthetics before he even registered that it was still dark out and about 5 in the morning. The screaming began to die down to hoarse shouts when he finally groped for his gun and was down the stairs. He and Piett exchanged a worried glance before slamming the door open. 

Luke was tangled in the sheets, but there wasn’t anyone else present despite the fact that Luke looked like he was being held down. Thrashing against an invisible attacker, and clawing at his throat. 

Before, Vader hand never given much thought to the rumors that the house was haunted; but he was quickly changing his mind. 

“Luke!” He was across the room. His shouts were becoming gurgled and strangled. He wasn’t breathing right. “LUKE!” Vader slapped the small blond across the face. It didn’t work, Luke’s frantic movements were becoming subdued. “Luke! LUKE! WAKE UP!” Gary barked like mad, hopping from one side of the bed to the other. 

Freezing terror the likes of which he hadn’t known in years seized his heart. Cold trailed down his spine and a draft of freezing air blasted through the room. 

Luke’s bright blue eyes snapped open, and he clawed at the invisible hands around his neck gasping and heaving for air. 

“Luke!” 

“Vader?” He blinked rapidly, trying to suck in a few breaths. He was hoarse in a way he had no right to be. Stunned, Vader watched the teen's eyes flood with tears. He launched himself upright and grabbed him.

“Luke?” Confused, Vader could only wrap his arms around the boy who was now sobbing into his bedshirt. “Luke, what happened?”

He didn’t answer, only crying and clinging harder when Vader tried to pull away. With nothing else to do, he settled for patting his back gently. He shushed at Gary who continued to bounce around Luke. 

“He killed her,” he made out, the stuttering voice. “He killed her.” 

“What?” Piett finally holstered his side-arm. 

“He killed her. He tried to kill them! He was strangling her! He was,” Luke broke down into more sobs. 

“Who, Luke? Who tried to kill who?”

“Palpatine,” Luke reached up to rub his neck but refused to let go of Vader even as he stiffened. “Palpatine murdered her. He murdered Padme. He,” Luke swayed when Vader pushed him back.

“You had a bad dream, Luke. You’ve been having nightmares.”

“It wasn’t a dream!” Luke shouted hoarsely. “It was real! I know it was real! I’ve been having the same dreams about them! The same woman and the same man! I’ve been having dreams and each time it’s…I saw him kill her! He’s the reason she’s dead! Vader, you have to believe me!”

“I,” Luke stared desperately up at him, eyes wide and tears still leaking from them. Around his thin, pale neck was a series of bruises that looked too much like a handprint for his comfort. “Of course I believe you.” 

“He strangled her,” Luke repeated, burying his head against his chest, “he was so angry. He wanted something and she wouldn’t…he was so mad that he killed her. He killed her.” 

“It’s alright, Luke,” the blonds distress was real and the bruises were real. What Vader had seen, Luke being held down by something invisible, unable to breathe. “I’ve got you.” He glanced back at Piett jerking his head to direct the man to check the doors and exits of the house. “It’s going to be okay.” 

“But she was so,” a hiccuping sob interrupted him, “so scared! She was so scared and she was angry! But she was so scared! I couldn’t do anything! I couldn’t even help her.” Luke straightened so quickly that he nearly smacked the underside of his jaw. “There’s something here!” He rasped as he reached for the bed knob. Luke twisted the cap off and a small metal chip wrapped in weathered paper fell.

“Oh my God,” Piett gasped, coming up on Vader’s side as Luke unfolded the paper to reveal a small SD card. Older than any SD card than Luke had ever seen and definitely younger than the old tape-decks and other audio recording device Luke had seen. 

“The last letter of Padme Amidala,” Luke read the paper, turning it around to face the two men. “Look!”

“How did you?” Vader cradled the SD card close and picked up the paper. His scanned the words and pressed his lips together. “How did you know that this was here?” 

“I just…”Luke rubbed his throat, the tears still spilling down his cheeks. “I was there, Vader. I saw it happen.” There was a haunted, terrified glaze over his eyes 

“That’s,” he wanted to tell the blond that it was impossible. He couldn’t have witnessed what he said he witnessed. He held Luke close to his chest, trying to come to terms with the fine, “that sounds terrible. I’m sorry.”

“Sir, what is on the SD card?” 

“Find my computer and an adaptor for a 2002 Sony memory stick and we’ll see.” Piett rushed out of the room. Vader turned back to Luke. “What happened in your dream?” 

“I don’t,” he shook his head, “I don’t want to talk about it” 

“Luke.” 

“Please! Mr. Vader! I can’t talk about it.” Luke still hadn’t let go of him. “I can’t.” 

“Alright,” he rubbed his back and tried to keep his arms from tangling in his shirt. “It’s alright, Luke. I won’t let anything happen to you.” He still hadn’t fully stopped crying, but the sobs that had been shaking his chest had died down. “I’ve got you.”

“I want to go home,” his voice was almost a whisper, and Vader couldn’t blame him. “I want to go home and see my aunt and uncle.” 

“I will take you home myself,” Vader promised him. “But the roads are flooded and the bridge is down. Until then, it isn’t safe.” 

“But my aunt and uncle!” 

“Here,” Vader pulled his phone out of his bathrobe pocket, “give them a call.” 

“It’s too early,” Luke pushed to phone back toward him, “I don’t want to wake them up.” Red eyes and shaking hands, as well as tear tracks down his face, he looked young and small. Vader wanted to argue, but he didn’t. “I’ve been having dreams,” Luke continued, “dreams about her. I saw her talking to people. She was asking after her husband. She was scared, she was so scared and afraid. I wanted to…I wanted to help, but I couldn’t. I only watched.” 

“It was frightening for you?” Piett returned with a clatter, eyes bright with excitement. 

“Sir! I got it!” He held out the computer, setting up the adaptor and plugging the memory stick in. He also plugged in a pair of headphones. “I’m sorry, Luke, but I don’t think that it is wise that you should hear this.” 

“I,” Luke started to argue, but he shook his head and turned away. Vader untangled himself from the teen and accepted an earbud. 

It was worse than he’d imagined it could be. So much worse. It was a conversation that would nail Palpatine to the wall for murder, bribery, and perjury. Vader waited until the recording, patchy and of poor quality came to an end. Slowly he closed the computer lid and handed it to Piett. 

“Sir, this is exactly what we need!”

“I can’t,” he covered his face, tears he thought he’d cried out years ago coming back with a vengeance. Luke patted his back, but he hardly noticed it. “Go, call your supervisor and get the gears turning. I’m going to. “He stood slowly, wavering as the grief threatened to overwhelm him. His leg made a worrying noise, and he sat down before he could break something. 

“I’m on it,” Piett offered, and was gone a second later.

“What was it?” Luke asked, grabbing his sleeve and waiting until the man turned around. “Vader, what was it?” 

“The proof,” he trembled, running his hands up and down his arms. 

“I was right?”

“Yes” 

For a long moment, the only noise they heard was the rain pounding against the glass and the steady, muffled cries of the writer. The bed creaked, fabric rustling around as Luke got onto his knees and pulled the blanket up to drape it over his wide shoulder. Vader held it close, bowing his head and crying even harder. He accepted Luke’s hug, even though Luke wasn’t exactly sure what was going on.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered, “I’m so sorry.” 

#$#$#

Owen Lars wasn’t in the habit of checking the news on the family computer before he went to work. It took the time he didn’t want to waste, and he wasn’t very fond of it in the first place. Still, he had to check the weather website to see if the storm was going to be letting up soon and to see if the roads were open yet. 

The first bit of news didn’t startle him very as much as confuse him. 

“FBI ARRESTS PALPATINE! NEW EVIDENCE IN AMIDALA CASE!”

“Damn,” he clicked away, checking the weather and road closings. His stomach twisted when it remained the same. Leaning over, he picked up the house phone and dialed a number he’d memorized by now. 

“Hello?” Luke sounded horrible, his voice hoarse and tense. 

“Luke, what’s wrong? Are you alright? What happened?”

“Uncle Owen,” Luke cheered up, “I’m so glad you called. I’m really glad to hear your voice. You have no idea how glad I am to hear your voice.” 

“Kiddo, what happened? What’s wrong?” Owen gestured Beru closer when she wandered into the room. Concern falling onto her face in an instant. 

“Nothing,” he lied unconvincingly, “I had a really bad dream last night.” 

“A nightmare?” 

“Yeah,” Luke sniffed, “a really bad dream. I just…I miss you a lot.” 

“Luke?” This wasn’t filling him with tons of confidence. “What?” 

“Danger, Will Robinson,” Luke said softly, and Owen sagged into his seat with relief. “I…just…miss you guys a lot. I don’t think I’ve ever spent so much time away from the house and you guys.” 

“I miss you too,” Owen said gruffly, “do you want to talk about it?”

“I was…getting murdered,” Luke told him after a very long minute. “I was fighting with an old man, a really old man. I….I couldn’t wake up. I was screaming and yelling loud enough to wake Mr. Vader. He, um, he thought I was being attacked.” 

“But you’re okay?”

“Yeah, wish this rain would let up. This is getting really frustrating.” Luke sighed, “anything interesting going on at home?” 

“Not much. Your aunt got into an argument with Mrs. Darklighter and won.”

“Not a surprise.”

“We’ve had about a dozen pots of tea,” he grumbled, “too cold up here. We’re sleeping with a duvet right now. Never thought we’d break that one out.” 

“It is so cold. Another thing we didn’t really have to worry about in Arizona,” Luke joked weakly. “Um, anything about the roads?”

“Nope, they’re all still down. Is everything okay with Mr. Vader?”

“He’s….had a rough night.” 

“What does that mean?” Beru asked she’d leaned close enough to hear what was being said. 

“Mr. Vader is a veteran,” Luke said in a hushed voice, “there was a bad bunch of thunder, plus with my nightmares…he sort of had a bad night.” 

“Oh,” they looked at each other for a minute. “You’re taking care, right? Behaving and everything?”

“Yeah, I just wish these nightmares would go away. I can’t…I can’t stop having them.”

“Well, the Darklighters told me that people think that house was haunted. Apparently, a person died up on that hill a while ago.”

“Yeah,” his son sighed deeply. “I really miss you guys.” 

“The house is a little quiet without you making a fuss,” Owen said. “I’ve got to set the table on my own now too.” 

“Yeah? I think you need practice.” 

“Practice, that’s what you’re here for,” he heard Luke laugh, “that and bugging me all day with questions I can’t answer.” 

“Also, we need someone to pick up the mail at the end of the driveway,” Beru put in. 

“That’s all I’m good for?” He asked with fake outrage. “Cleaning up and making noise?”

“That’s what children are for, sweetie,” Beru grinned, “sometimes you get the added bonus of a smile or two.” 

“I smile a lot,” Luke told her, “I smile a whole lot. I even make jokes sometimes.” 

“Hmm, that’s only partly true,” Owen noted how much more cheerful he sounded. “tell me what you’ve been doing these last could of days then.” 

#$$#

As much as Vader wanted to say that the world had changed when news of Palpatine’s arrest had come through, it hadn’t. He was still hunched over his kitchen table, wrapped in a heavy blanket and sucking a cold mug of tea down. 

Early this morning, too early to even be thinking, he had listened to his Palpatine plot out his wife’s murder, speaking to her with clear tones and explaining just how he would get away with it. Anakin was wounded the same day the children had been born. Unable to care for them, and Palpatine had been directly responsible for putting both children in the foster care system. How he planned to have them lose their inheritance, and take it for his own. Destroying their whole family in an attempt to gain control of Padme’s significant wealth and estate. 

Except that she had made amendments to her will just two days before her death. It cut Palpatine out and cast enough doubt on Palpatine’s innocence that he hadn’t tried to pressure it for fear of losing public face. Padme’s estate had been held by the state for the last decade and a half. There were significant amounts of American holdings and not to mention her family title and fortune in Europe. 

Interpol would descend on this place in a few days. Not to mention French authorities and her parents might actually call him for once. The FBI would be investigating every single inch of this house until it was inside out. 

Palpatine was in prison, hopefully not to be released not to be released on bail. 

What mattered more to him was a chance to meet his children finally. 

“Luke?” He turned around when he heard the plastic move. The blond was hugging Gary close, but he was smiling finally. “How are your relatives?” 

“They’re doing okay. Roads are still out, Uncle Owen complained about having to set the table. Um, it was nice talking to them. You were right,” Luke said, “I should have called them when I woke up.” 

“They sound like admirable family.” 

“Yeah, I was lucky to get them.” 

“Lucky?” As much as he wanted to mope and ruminate over his sadness and depression, he was curious. 

“I’m adopted,” Luke told him, “I just call them aunt and uncle. They’re technically my parents.” 

“Adopted? Really?” 

“Yeah, I don’t actually know who my parents were or are,” Luke handed him Gary and puttered around the kitchen as he examined the different teas available. “Um, did you know Padme Amidala?” 

“Why do you ask?” Vader sipped his coffee.

“You, um, seemed really sad last night. Or this morning works too.”

“I knew her a long time ago,” Vader said quietly, “and she was…the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.” 

“I,” Luke pursed his lips, “can I tell you something?” 

“Of course,” Vader wasn’t sure that he would have found the data until Luke had woken from that nightmare. The bruises were still horribly persistent, a testament to the peculiarities of the house. “Besides the fact that I apparently need an exorcist.”

“Oh, I don’t know…you’ve never had bad dreams?”

“Only the usual ones.” He snorted into his cup, “not ones where I’m.” 

“Alright,” Luke massaged his neck carefully, “but I mean…ones of her?”

“I…sometimes.”

“But it isn’t just that, Mr. Vader. I’ve been seeing her when I’m not asleep. I’ve seen her around the house too. Like…a ghost.” 

“What?” He set down the cup with a rattle. “What the hell?” 

“Yeah, um.” 

“You’ve seen a ghost in the house?” He sputtered, “you’ve seen a ghost in this house and you didn’t say anything?”

“Was I?” Luke pursed his lips, “was I supposed to say something? I didn’t think…” 

“This is what I get for being dramatic,” he complained, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “My guest doesn’t even mention the ghost. A ghost in my house and you didn’t say a word. Was the ambiance just that good or were you really scared of me?” 

“A bit of both, honestly, “Luke told him. Vader took a deep, fortifying breath.

“You have seen the ghost of Padme Amidala, in my house.” 

“I…” the blond adverted his gaze and nodded. “I didn’t know who she was at first. I just…I was scared but I wasn’t scared. I wasn’t that worried. She didn’t seem very dangerous. She seems more sad than anything.” 

“Sad?” Vader clutched at his coffee cup, wondering when his life had become a cosmic joke. How could this even be for real?

“Sad, she smiled sometimes too. She talked to me a couple of times too.” 

“What?” He wondered if he really wanted to know. “What did she say?” 

“Well, the first time I heard her was when I was falling asleep on the couch. I was super tired and I couldn’t really move. You were there too, you gave me the blanket. She was behind you, and I was….surprised. Not really surprised because this whole house,” he shrugged, “it makes a little more sense than some other things. Anyway, she told me that I should get some rest.”

“That’s all she told you?” 

Luke nodded and then shook his head, “I dreamed about her talking to a guy she called Threepio.” He was glad he wasn’t swallowing anything because he would have to spit it out. 

“How did you learn that name?” 

“I told you,” Luke said, “I dreamed about it. You haven’t mentioned Threepio and nor has Mr. Piett. I dreamed about it. She told him…she was telling him that she was afraid.” 

“How the hell?” The horror and the shock, combined with his inability to accept his words as truth, had him slamming his cup onto the table. “Is this possible? 

“I don’t know!” Luke shouted back, “it was weird for me too. The dreams and nightmares I’ve been having are all about her. Last night I…last night I dreamed about.” 

“I need more coffee,” Vader said weakly, and wobbled his way to the coffee pot. “I need to call a priest.” Actually, did he want to call a priest? If Luke was right, and Padme was lingering in the house then…But she had been murdered. If she was lingering then it was only because Palpatine hadn’t been brought to justice. A restless spirit was never a good thing. He had done more than enough research on the topic for his books on that matter. “Is that why I sometimes feel a cold draft?” it was the dumbest thing he could say on the matter. His wife’s ghost was haunting his house and that was the question he was asking? 

“I think so. Only sometimes though.” 

“I thought I just hadn’t redone the siding well enough,” Vader mused and Luke shook his head. 

“I really like this house. I mean. It’s a little creepy at first glance, but it is really comfortable.” 

With nothing else to say, he pulled out his phone and began to read articles about Palpatine's arrest. It had happened in the early hours of the evening, apparently the work of dozens of officers and years of work. A satisfying end to his career dragged before the public and every news station in the country. It would only be a matter of time before the media fell upon this town. 

“Luke,” he stirred a few spoonfuls of sugar into his cup, “there’s something we need to discuss.”

“Um,” the blond managed to look nervous and delicate at the same time. “About what?” 

“With the news of Palpatine’s arrest, there will be a media swarm on this town. Since I don’t think that you want to deal with the inevitable media frenzy that’s going to come from this.” 

“I don’t want to get caught up in anything! It was an accident. I don’t even know why I would be seeing her and you wouldn’t?” 

He considered it and set his coffee cup to the side. “Unless you have a connection to her.” 

“How could I have a connection to her?” Luke asked, blinking in confusion. It struck Vader at that moment that Luke’s eyes were very blue. 

“How old are you?” 

“Uh,” Luke stared at him for a second longer before he understood. “NO! NO! That’s not! You’re crazy? That’s not even…” his mouth flapped open and closed a few times. “It can’t be!” 

“Why not?” It was too much for him. The hope, the anticipation, the chance that he had had his son in the house all along. “You’re right, it is too much to believe.” 

“Yes!” Luke nodded aggressively, looking grateful that Vader seemed to have dropped the subject. “I can’t be. I couldn’t be!” 

“It was just a suggestion, don’t get worked up over it,” Vader told him. “Until today there was no indication that my house was haunted. All reports suggest that Padme Amidala died in the hospital. I didn’t realize that…she died in this house.” 

“I’m sorry,” Luke leaned over to pat his shoulder. “I’m really sorry, Mr. Vader. I shouldn’t have.” 

“That’s alright,” Vader sighed, “it’s fine.” 

Awkward silence fell until Luke cleared his throat. “I don’t think…that I want to be caught up in the mess. I’m glad she’s getting justice. Even if it is pretty late.” 

“Agreed.” He sipped his coffee and for a while, they listened to the rain. 

#$#$#$3

Luke had never been so happy to see his aunt and uncle. Despite their worried fussing and their eventual relief to see that everything had turned out alright. They hadn’t even gotten a chance to see Vader, who dropped Luke off at home in the early hours before taking off for a big city. Doing what, he hadn’t told Luke. 

Life resumed its normal speed. No more dreams from strange women. No more creaking houses and floorboards, no more strange noises at night. But the nightmares persisted. 

Even Biggs had come by to apologize for leaving him in the woods all alone. Though he’d avoided Beru and her dangerous waving spoons. Luke thought about what Vader had told him and tried to not take it personally. 

Owen and Beru might not have paid attention to the news about Palpatine's murder trial, but Luke did. He watched the news and online sites blow up with the reveal of her murderer as well as the investigation into finding out that her children were available to inherit her enormous fortune, title, and estate. 

Apparently, Padme Amidala had come from a very wealthy family in France. 

Apparently, Padme’s husband, Anakin Skywalker, hadn’t died. He had come forward to testify that Palpatine had manipulated several judges into taking his rights of raising his own children. 

Apparently, their twins were separated and had been adopted out. All without a shadow of an idea of who their parents were. 

Luke wasn’t all that surprised when he saw a familiar car parked in their driveway when he got home from school one day. The news had set the town buzzing. Vader had lived on that hill 12 miles away. He was a horror writer of renown and apparently the widower of Padme Amidala. It propelled him into town infamy and onto the national spotlight. 

He hadn’t reached the front door when it opened, and Aunt Beru stood just inside the threshold with a pinched, worried expression on her face. Her tired eyes darted from him and then over her shoulder. Trembling fingers drummed an unhappy beat against the door jam. “Luke,” she began and her voice faded out. 

“Is he here?” He asked, managing to unstick his own voice. 

“He?” Startled, she turned her head back inside and then back to him.

“My father?” Surprise moved across her face, turning into confusion, and then resigned acceptance before it reached the other side. 

“He’s inside,” she stepped out of the way and let Luke in. The kitchen was warmer than usual, packed with several people he didn’t recognize. Some of them he’d seen in the attic room attached to the corkboard with a pin, and one he’d seen in a dream. Piett was back, standing awkwardly at the sink and holding a plain green mug. Threepio, pressing a napkin to his eyes to steam the tears. At the table was Vader, his father. He looked a lot more tired than Luke had last seen him. After having spent months speaking to lawyers and testifying in court and dealing with the fallout of Palpatine’s murder conviction. Probably reliving the days after his wife’s death when the news was pressing for more and more juicy details about their marriage. His black clothes hadn’t changed much, Luke only ever remembered seeing him in black and sometimes red. His scars looked the same, but the shadows under his eyes and paleness of his face had worsened. 

When Luke’s footsteps sounded on the wood floor, he looked up. Bright blue eyes landing on Luke, and he moved to stand. They both froze. The noise around Luke died down to a dull roar, and the worry that he’d been hoarding came back at full force. 

It was weird to think that he and Vader had spoken and been together for so long without knowing who the other one was. Luke felt a little bad that he hadn’t kept this promise to Padme.

“Luke,” Vader, no, his name was Anakin, “you’re…how was school?”

“School was fine,” Luke let his backpack slide off his shoulder and set it on the floor. “Turned in a paper.”

“Oh?” Vader seemed to be holding his mug of tea with a desperate grip. 

“Would ya’ll like to see my album of tractor pictures,” Uncle Owen said loudly from the living room. The other swiftly agreed, emptying the kitchen within moments. Aunt Beru gave his arm an affectionate squeeze as she walked out. 

When they were alone, Anakin cleared his throat. “When did you figure it out?”

“A couple of weeks ago,” Luke said quietly, “it was too…conincidental.”

“You’ve been…waiting for me?”

“I wasn’t sure if you were…busy.” Luke admitted, “how are you…doing?”

“Fine,” he sounded choked up, and Luke was across the room in a flash. Wrapping his arms around his father’s waist and holding as tightly as possible. The older man smelled like coffee and office buildings, as well as machine oil and metal. It felt like coming home. 

Luke blinked tears out of his eyes, holding onto his father like he was a lifeline. Drowning in emotion and now sure if he wanted to bother learning how to swim. It was hard to keep his control like he had the last few weeks. Watching his mother’s murder being debated on television. Hearing it re-hashed again and again, falling asleep and re-living the nightmare of her death. He had woken up, hands scrabbling for his throat for hands that weren’t there several times.

At some point he began to cry in earnest, unable to hold back his grief and sadness any longer. The collective anxieties and fears of the past few weeks draining out. All the while, Anakin held on tightly. Understanding, without a word, passed between them, what Luke was crying for. 

“Did you know that you have a twin sister?” Anakin asked, and Luke nodded slowly. “Her name is Leia and she’s desperate to meet you. I think you’ll like her. You both have similar attitudes.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Luke wiped his eyes on his sleeve, staring up at his father. “What, did you talk to her first?”

“She lives in California, it was closer. I wasn’t sure how to approach you after everything.” 

“Oh,” Luke tucked his head closer to his father’s chest, listening to the steady heartbeat. “I wasn’t sure if you wanted to talk to me after all.” 

“Of course I wanted to speak to you,” Anakin patted the back of his head.

“Who are the other people?” 

“Friends of mine and a few lawyers,” they separated after only a minute. “There are a few legal matters we have to attend to.”

“you finally met my aunt and uncle. They’ve been wanting to meet you.” 

“Yes,” Anakin rubbed the back of his neck, sheepish. “It was a very interesting conversation. Ah, I can understand how you were so…”

“So what?” 

“Good people raised you,” he said simply, and Luke grinned. 

“What about…mom’s…stuff?” 

“Threepio is the family lawyer, and he wanted to speak to you about your inheritance. The title in France and the villa in Italy. There’s a lot.”

“But you’re my dad, don’t you want it? I mean, you’re…” Luke couldn’t imagine inheriting the things that Padme had left behind. No matter how often the newspapers tallied up her net worth. He’d stayed carefully away from those thoughts and ideas. 

“I don’t want it,” Anakin said slowly, he traced his jaw with a trembling hand. “I…it is yours and your sisters. Your mother left it all to you.” 

“Well,” Luke grabbed his hand, still amazed that he was able to hug his father. “Um, who has been watching Gary?”

“He’s a well-traveled dog, son. Would you…would you like to meet the others?” 

“Yeah,” Luke croaked, rubbing the tears from his eyes. “I would.”


End file.
